Chapter 1024 – Rooting Out the Weeds (Part Two)
“Even though everything is under the Emperor’s control, and it’s even a result of his manipulation, when Wei Ci thinks about how the assassination is planned for Fushou’s birthday, he can’t suppress the hatred in his heart—how could he not feel it?”
“Just a little more, just a little more and it would be a double death—”
“He wishes he could take that risk for her.”
The person leading the Red Lotus Sect to trouble the Emperor was none other than that elusive “fish that escaped the net” who was accidentally overlooked during the Emperor’s campaign against the Northern Border and the slaughter of its nobility. Wei Ci personally handled the interrogations, so he knew the person’s background well—Wu Libai’s grandson.
Calculating the time, that person is only nine or ten years old now—
Just as he was deep in thought, the tent flap was flung open by Fu Wang.
“General Wei is truly incredible! The servant of Wu Libai has spilled everything—Wu Libai actually got a pastoral girl pregnant when he was sixteen and entrusted the daughter to family elders to raise. Later, she was secretly married off to a side branch of the royal family,” Fu Wang rushed in, panting heavily, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “They say it’s a royal side branch, but it’s actually just the Northern Border King’s illegitimate child, so there’s no record of this person in the royal genealogy—almost overlooked the whole family—”
Wei Ci asked coldly, “Did you capture the person?”
Fu Wang grimaced, “When our people got there, the whole family was about to flee. A few of the adults, seeing they couldn’t escape, committed suicide. But didn’t the General say there was still a boy? So we conducted a thorough search—”
“How does he look?” Wei Ci inquired.
“Only about ten years old, but looks pretty dull, not showing the aura of the ‘Restorer of the Nation.'”
“And the boy?” Wei Ci pressed on.
“He’s been brought in—” Fu Wang shouted outside, and soldiers dragged in a tightly bound little plump kid.
Wei Ci narrowed his eyes, stepping forward to pinch the child’s chin and examine him closely.
“This isn’t the child—this one is a fake—” Wei Ci declared with certainty, “The real one has been swapped out.”
Fu Wang was taken aback, “This isn’t real?”
“This is a servant’s child, with no trace of nobility. Both parents are slaves; how could this be the person Wei is looking for?”
Wei Ci had seen that “fish that escaped the net” in a previous life; although the twenty-something youth and the ten-year-old child looked different, there should still be some similarities. Looking at this child’s features, it was clear his family had been poor for generations, making it impossible for him to be Wu Libai’s grandson.
Fu Wang’s expression darkened, “Are you sure?”
Wei Ci said, “Interrogating the kid will tell us.”
Fu Wang unsheathed his sword and pressed it threateningly against the fat kid’s neck, and the child, indeed, revealed his deception.
“Damn it—”
Fu Wang’s face turned pale. His underlings were careless, and it seemed he needed to take matters into his own hands.
They chased the trail for over an hour, finally finding the real suspect hiding in a wilderness toilet.
This outdoor toilet wasn’t deep, about the height of an adult, and Fu Wang never expected the real suspect would hide there.
“He’s a terrifying little brat, just like Wu Libai’s spawn. That latrine was full of maggots and flies; when we approached to search, the kid actually jumped down to hide there! He didn’t even fear drowning in filth—such composure at such a young age is indeed frightening.” Fu Wang returned just before dusk and reported to Wei Ci, “The kid was too stinky; let him wash up before the General has a look.”
Wei Ci said coldly, “He’s only a dead man; the corpse will rot regardless; there’s no need to clean him.”
Fu Wang replied, “That may be so, but we can’t let him stink up the General.”
People in ancient times feared ghosts and deities; Fu Wang might not believe in them, but he wouldn’t recklessly judge an unknown realm.
Regardless, Wei Ci’s display of skill inspired a bit of respect from Fu Wang.
“I’ll have a look.”
Wei Ci, accompanied by Fu Wang, went to see that “fish that escaped the net.”
Though only ten years old, the boy already showed signs of being strikingly handsome, with well-defined features and deep-set eyes.
As Wei Ci gazed at him, he seemed to pierce through time and see the young man bound in the dungeons.
Honestly, if not for the differing positions, Wei Ci still admired the other side a bit.
To this day, Wei Ci remembered what the young man said before taking his own life—
[“…The Liu Thief has slaughtered my Northern Border citizens. How many starving children have lost their parents? How many lonely elderly have lost their kin? …A million people perished under her sword… I just wanted her to suffer two deaths…”]
Whether in his past life or this one, the Emperor remained the enemy of the Northern Border.
But—
[“Was the Emperor really the cause of the Northern Border’s plight?”] Wei Ci murmured while looking at the youth’s corpse on the ground, [“It was clearly this chaotic world. The Emperor merely ended the chaos in his own way, using the sacrifices of a few to gain peace for the realm.”]
If the young man succeeded, the newly established Jiang Zhao would crumble, and chaos might re-emerge.
At that time, Changsheng would only be five or six years old, just beginning to understand the world.
Once the Emperor died, how could Changsheng bear this country?
What would happen to the court that was once a balanced place?
However, Wei Ci would not allow the regrets of his previous life to be repeated; the child before him must die.
Perhaps sensing Wei Ci’s intent to kill, the child’s brown eyes sparked with intense hatred and killing intent, like a young wolf left alone.
The child’s breath hitched as he asked Wei Ci in somewhat clumsy Chinese.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Wei Ci nodded, raising his right hand as a soldier beside him handed over his sword.
“Why?” the child asked again.
“Rooting out the weeds,” Wei Ci said softly, “Do I need another reason?”
To the child, Jiang Pengji had nearly killed all his relatives; he was old enough to remember and could never forget.
This blood feud would end only with death.
The child’s face turned pale.
After a long pause, he felt his blood run cold, his body crumpling to the ground, staining the earth beneath him with blood.
Retrieving his sword, Wei Ci felt an unprecedented lightness.
Learning from past mistakes, Fu Wang became even more careful and cautious, perfectly completing the task assigned by Jiang Pengji.
“You killed someone yourself?”
When Jiang Pengji learned of this, she didn’t care about the boy’s identity but focused on the implications of Wei Ci’s actions.
“That child would remain a hidden danger if left alive; it’s better to eliminate him early.”
Jiang Pengji frowned, “If you’re going to kill, why take matters into your own hands?”
Wei Ci replied, “It’s not that Wei is killing a person.”
Jiang Pengji asked, “And you mean to say that child is a monster?”
Wei Ci stated, “What Wei is killing is his own inner demons.”
By personally killing that child, Wei Ci truly felt—he could change the predetermined future!
Jiang Pengji: “…”
It wasn’t until deep autumn arrived that Jiang Pengji completely conquered the Northern Border and wiped out its nobility.
Just when she was about to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the new year, she received a letter from Huang Song.
Only then did she retroactively remember she still had an ally—Huang Song, who was helping to stall the Cangzhou Meng Clan.
